Pakistan confirms the presence of its troops in Saudi Arabia

Pakistan has confirmed the presence of its service members in Saudi Arabia under the recently concluded mutual defense treaty between Riyadh, Islamabad, and Ankara.

This was stated by the official spokesman for Pakistan's Armed Forces, Major General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry

"Pakistan's troops are already there. That is what I can share with you," Chaudhry said. According to him, information about the size and equipment of the Pakistani contingent is classified.

The general noted that Islamabad's commitments to ensuring Saudi Arabia's security are "absolute," and the collective security agreement provides for the principle under which an attack on one of the participants is considered an attack on all.

Chaudhry emphasized that the Pakistani forces perform an exclusively defensive function and are intended for "collective deterrence." At the same time, Islamabad is continuing diplomatic efforts aimed at reducing tensions and ending the escalation of the Iranian-American conflict.

In turn, the head of Turkey's Foreign Ministry, Hakan Fidan, stated that the Mecca alliance is exclusively defensive in nature, and therefore Ankara will not send troops to other countries to take part in offensive actions.

"I clearly state that this agreement concerns only defense. When a country that is a signatory to this agreement is attacked, you must stand by its side and defend it. This is not an agreement about attacking. Turkey will not send troops onto the territory of another country to carry out an attack," Fidan said at a press conference in Ankara with his Hungarian counterpart Anita Orban.

According to him, cooperation within the framework of the Mecca agreement is continuing. Military delegations of the participating countries will jointly determine the necessary defense measures for Saudi Arabia in the operational zone, as well as the contribution of Pakistan and Turkey to ensuring security.

Source: CNN, TASS